“I’m fifty-five. If I can’t be authentic now, when is that going to happen? I don’t want to go to my grave being inauthentic.” ~ Dina Lantzer

“Temporary, extreme fear while speaking the truth is easier to overcome than perpetual fear of the unspoken truth.” ~ Matt Lantzer

Against all odds, Matt and Dina Lantzer had a marriage that worked. They married young, when Dina was 21 and Matt was 18, but they stuck with each other through thick and thin, raised 3 kids and have 4 grandkids.

After 35 years together, they discovered a painful truth: they had both developed a long standing habit of hiding things from each other, both big and small. In this discovery, they came to realize that their fear of transparency with each other was simultaneously limiting their marriage's potential and smothering their individual joy.

Join me for this nitty gritty conversation on the power of speaking our truth within our most intimate relationships.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

Do what you believe in and let meaning and service follow from that.

This is the core concept I keep coming back to as I think about my next guest’s story…

Scott Ehrisman is a multi-talented artist, a community activist, community builder, a friend to a great many people and an all around kind person. He’s truly committed to doing the things that interest and excite him. He’s had twenty different jobs, fueled by a drive to constantly better himself through learning new things and challenging himself. This drive led him to lose 130 pounds over the course of the last two two years. A personal commitment to himself found him commuting everywhere by bike last winter, sans four inhospitable days. AND keep in mind, Sioux Falls, South Dakota winters are windy, snowy, icy, and bitterly cold!

Scott’s commitment to making his convictions actionable is astonishing. A few years back, he took six months off of work to recharge, develop new fascinations, and refocus on what he wanted from life.

After researching and dreaming about starting a pedicab business for a decade, he took a leap this summer and started Downtown Rickshaw in downtown Sioux Falls. For those who aren’t up on your pedicab or cycle rickshaw lingo, picture a human-powered, three wheeled, taxi-bike service.

I love talking to Scott because in this super challenging world he has found the courage to be himself, exactly as he is, in all his brilliance, and that helps me find the courage to embrace who I am. I hope our conversation inspires a deeper recognition of your own brilliance.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“I’m a fan of my fellow human being, I’m a fan of achievement. My mother’s hippie ways are deep within me. When I leave the world, I have the responsibility to leave it better.” ~ David Ervin

Right out of college at Penn State, David Ervin was hoping to find a job with a steady paycheck that could cover life’s essentials: car insurance and beer. Instead, what he found was a warm welcome into a community that transformed his life both professionally and personally.

David speaks passionately about how people who experience disabilities are part of the broad and sacred spectrum of what makes up humanity. He notes that there tends to be an urge to help those with disabilities out of a sense of pity. However in his experience, people with disabilities are definitely not charity cases. With reverence, David says, “I’ve learned so much from people with disabilities: grit, perseverance, bravado, the ability to find hidden strengths and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.” He goes on to say, “The people I have worked with for over 40 years want opportunity just like I do. When given an opportunity, they succeed.”

David points out, need for each other is simply part of what unites us. He talks enthusiastically about how interdependent human beings are and views the act of offering people with disabilities help is no different than offering anyone else help.

Currently the CEO of Makom, David supports and empowers people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to achieve the quality of life to which they aspire. He is also Conscience of the Field Editor for Helen: The Journal on Human Exceptionality.

Tune in for this enriching conversation.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com